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TSA will unionize. (That's 40,000 government employees.)

Earlier this week, the American Federation of Government Employees ... one of our wonderful public-sector unions ... held a protest in Washington. What were they protesting? They want more of your money. That's right. They were protesting because the government has not looted enough money from you, the producers. In the words of one of the protesters in this video, "We need money, now!"

So someone caught up with the head of the American Federation of Government Employees at this protest, and his name in John Gage. Amidst the "We need more money, now!" rants, John Gage managed to squeeze out this little nugget of intellectual brilliance ...

"When people say, 'well we just have to pay less in wages,' whether its private sector or public sector, I think they are mentally retarded to say something like that."

Mentally retarded?

It gets worse, folks. When it comes to the TSA, there is no doubt that it will unionize. Whether it will obtain collective bargaining rights remains to be seen. But the 40,000+ employees will unionize, and right now there are two unions lobbying to represent them. Guess which union is one of them? You guessed it .... the American Federation of Government Employees!

Can't you just wait until your TSA is striking on the streets of Washington, with members screaming "We need more money, now!" and their leader talking about how "mentally retarded" it is to pay workers what they are worth?

Are the American people starting to figure out that public-sector unions are dangerous to the financial future of this country? Hope so. Bringing these unions and their moonbat leaders under control is going to be an essential step in saving this country.

If the TSA union strikes... does that mean we shut down all passenger air traffic until it is resolved? I seriously doubt it.

IMO this is no more than the normal militant attitude one sees from selfish greedy labor... trying to gain power. If they think for one minute their bosses have enough 'pull' to shut down all passenger air traffic in the USA over a strike... they are dreaming. Talk about public outcry... Regardless of how liberal the media is... they will not be able to hide that one... The public will be heard and the greedy, over-paid, under-qualified 'rent-a-cops' in govt uniform, will get their tail feathers clipped.

The result will probably be the TSA folks will get free flying at govt expense for their 'important' role. Sheesh.

I did something like a dozen or more round trips to Houston in 2009 when my Dad was in the hospital down there. Saw the same TSA guys many times... they treated me WORSE every time.

Ya know: it does not take a rocket scientist to understand when they are being scammed... and I get that feeling strongly every time I walked through TSA. Something is just WRONG with this system... and the govt is the one who set up and maintains the system. We need to put pressure where pressure is needed.

Airline security needs to be handled by the people who are the most skilled and the most motivated to treat customers fairly as they screen them, namely the airlines themselves. Airline-hired and managed screeners would take a more practical approach, they would do the job more efficiently, they would have the security of the airlines and their passengers at heart, they would use fewer employees, they would avoid any sense of bureaucracy, and they would be cheaper (as a group).

How do I know this? Because that's the way it was before the TSA was brought in. There was never any need for them in the first place. They are already a useless, bloated federal organization, just like the USPS, only worse.

The underlying, absurd logic is that if you intend to board an airplane, you sacrifice your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. The right to travel—as fundamental a right as there is in a free society—has been turned on its head.

This all began shortly after 9/11. Congress established the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) whose main job is to screen all passengers and baggage at over 450 U.S. airports.

But the TSA was ill-conceived from the start. After 9/11, potential terrorists already residing in the U.S. have had little incentive to use airplanes in their plots, considering the near-infinite possibilities of terror targets.

People also need to put the terrorism threat into realistic perspective. Globally, the average international death rate from road accidents is about 390 times that from international terrorism. In 2001, U.S. road crash deaths were equal to those from a September 11 attack every 26 days. More than 400,000 Americans are killed each year by smoking cigarettes -- hundreds of thousands more than terrorism causes, but millions more dollars are being pumped into trying to stop terrorism than into addressing these other well-known factors that kill hundreds of thousands more Americans with greater regularity. Policymakers should pay attention to such comparisons when allocating resources to public safety, and the public needs to take a deep breath and face the reality of such comparisons. Terrorism is a small threat compared to the massive amount of resources being thrown at the perceived problem.

Additionally, out the most notorious post-911 attempted airplane bombings in recent years -- the "Shoe Bomber," the Christmas Day "Underpants Bomber" and more the recent mailed cargo packages -- none were intercepted by TSA. They were all stopped by other means, including alert airline passengers.

The government is in an irrational panic mode when it comes to airline travel. Millions of innocent travelers are now effectively considered guilty until proven innocent. TSA's invasive screening procedures are bringing home to people to just how much freedom they have been forced to give up in response to the actions of a few terrorists.